


skate or DIE [ ON HOLD ]

by theofiiiinch



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bisexual Characters, Everyone Is Gay, F/M, Light Angst, Mental Health Issues, Roller Derby, Skateboarding, Slow Romance, Steven Universe (Cartoon) Spoilers, Trans Male Character, implied trans character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:34:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24636886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theofiiiinch/pseuds/theofiiiinch
Summary: steven is a skater, connie does roller derbyheadcanons/aus i have for this fic:connie is bisexual, steven is a bisexual trans guy, steven is homeschooled by the gems, connie's going for valedictorian, they're both juniors in high school!
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Comments: 7
Kudos: 28





	1. meeting

**Author's Note:**

> i'm back on my bullshit aus but this time they're SKATERS

Steven had gotten up early on this particular morning. His favorite skate shop, Ocean Town Skate, was having a big sale and he had to drive a bit to get to the shop. As his alarm went off, he sighed softly, pressing the off button on his phone. 

“Steven!” Pearl called up to him. “Are you going to have breakfast here or while you’re on the road?”

“I’ll have it on the road!” he shouted back as he got out of bed. 

He stretched his arms up, his shirt riding up slightly to expose the pink gem on his stomach. As he strode over to his dresser to pick out his outfit, he found himself stopping in front of his mirror. Steven was short for a guy and he was what people would consider pudgy. His height and his frame didn’t necessarily bother him, he was just keenly aware that his height was probably a dead give away for well...the whole gender thing. (Not that it mattered to him, of course, he just wanted to fit in.) He let out a slight groan as he turned away from the mirror and began to fish for an outfit in his dresser. He decided on a pair of light wash jeans with rips in the knees and his favorite Sadie Killer shirt, layering a loose fitting flannel on top. After he changed, he looked back at himself in the mirror. 

“Lookin’ sharp, Steven Universe.” he said to his reflection with a chuckle. 

Sure, he was lacking the confidence he needed to actually believe the words, but it would have to do for now. He quickly walked down the stairs, grabbing his keys and his wallet from the kitchen counter. 

“Bye Pearl, bye Amethyst, bye Garnet!” he called. 

“Yo, Steve-o wait up!” Amethyst shouted after him. “You’re forgetting something!” 

“Oh jeez what is it now?” Steven asked, coming to a halt. “I have my phone, my wallet, and my keys! What else could I be…Oh.” 

He stopped short as Amethyst came rolling towards him on his skateboard. 

“My board. That’s very important.” he said with a grin. “Gotta have it with me or else I’ll never be able to get my wheels replaced.” 

“I knew you’d forget it.” Garnet said with a smirk. “Have fun out there.” 

“Don’t forget to eat!” Pearl called out to him. “And be sure to be home by 10:00!” 

“All right, all right!” Steven called, waving to his family as the door closed behind him. 

The second he got into his car, Steven turned the volume of the stereo up high. And thus started his journey to Ocean Town Skate. 

One brief pit stop for food, multiple music changes, and a stop for gas later, Steven found himself at Ocean Town Skate. After parking his car (quite well in his opinion), he left the car and grabbed his board. His board was almost completely covered in stickers. “It adds character” he’d say whenever someone asked about it - not that anyone asked often. The two stickers that expressed his gender and sexual identities, a trans flag and a bi flag, were obscured slightly by other stickers. It’s not that he...didn’t want people knowing how he identified, it’s just that he seemed to pass pretty well and he had never really been with anyone so his sexuality could change. He didn’t think it would though. As he entered the skate shop, Steven was greeted by the familiar faces of some of his friends who worked at the store. Most people at the store knew him by name, or at least by face. It was nice to be surrounded by such a familiar environment and with people who actually knew him for who he was. Steven let himself wander through the store and found himself at the wheel section. 

After a little bit of looking and finding the wheels he needed, Steven heard the sound of the door jingle open. A tall girl with short poofy hair and deep brown eyes bounded into the store. She wore a pair of cutoff overall shorts over a red and mustard yellow striped t-shirt and a pair of beat up white Converse shoes. Steven felt his face grow hot and quickly averted his gaze so it wouldn’t seem like he was staring at her. He heard her make her way over to a far end of the shop and grab what she was looking for almost immediately. As Steven approached the check out counter, the girl came out from the knee pad section of the shop and stood in line behind him. 

“Nice shirt!” she said, with a grin. Her voice was warm, Steven noticed. 

“Oh, uh, thanks!” Steven said. “So uh..why knee pads?” 

“I do roller derby!” 

“Oh that’s really cool! I’m Steven by the way.” 

“Connie!” 

“Cool.” 

“Steven?” the cashier, Craig, said, interrupting the conversation. “It’s your turn dude.” 

Steven’s face flushed in embarrassment. “Oh sorry.” 

With that, Steven proceeded to check out and pay for his wheels. After a somewhat awkward conversation with Craig, he walked out of the store and into his car. It wasn’t until then that he realized he hadn’t gotten any way to contact Connie. 

“Fuck.” he muttered under his breath.


	2. encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> light trigger warning for anxious behaviors!

Steven put his head on the steering wheel in defeat as he realized that he probably wouldn’t be getting Connie’s number any time soon. He let out a sharp sigh and picked his head up and started the car. Maybe he’d see her again some time, but he didn’t go to the Ocean Town Skate very often and he didn’t even know where she lived or anything. He began to back out of his parking spot when he caught a glimpse of some familiar puffy hair running to his car. When Connie ran towards the car, Steven immediately hit the breaks and lowered the window.

“Oh my god Steven!” she said, a warm smile on her face. “I thought I had missed you!”

“Huh?” Steven asked, confused. “What do you mean?”

“I was going to give you my number!” Connie chuckled. 

A blush grew on Steven’s face and he began to fidget with his hands. Upon noticing that Connie was waiting, he grabbed his phone out of his pocket and with a slightly shaky hand, he put it in Connie’s hand.

“You can, uh, type it in.” Steven said, giving Connie a grin in return. 

“I was actually wondering if you wanted to hang out more? It doesn’t have to be now or anything, but you seem super cool!” she replied while typing out her number.  
  
“Yeah sure! But quick question: Why are you asking me?”   
  
“I think you’re cool, silly! I’ve also seen you at the skate park in Beach City and I’ve never had the guts to talk to you.” 

“You...you have?” 

Connie nodded quickly and smiled wide. “You’re a really good skater!”   
  


Steven’s face flushed red and he let out a quiet chuckle. Connie handed Steven his phone back and when their fingers touched for an instant, Steven felt a chill go down his spine. Shocked by the feeling, he retracted his hand quickly and cleared his throat. 

“I’ll, uh, I’ll text you.” he said. “We can plan something.”   
  
“Yeah that sounds good.” Connie agreed, a twinge of anxiety in her tone. “It was nice meeting you.” 

As she stepped on the curb and began walking away to wherever she was parked, Steven backed away from where he had been parked and began driving away. He felt guilty for retracting his hand so suddenly. He really hoped it hadn’t seemed like he didn’t want to touch Connie or anything, he just got really nervous when it came to physical touch. It created a bunch of “what if” scenarios in his head, mostly relating to how he appeared to others. His feelings related to being touched and how people perceived him were complicated to say the least. 

To make it easier for him to get out of his head, Steven did what his therapist had always suggested: open up a window and take deep breaths. Normally, this method worked, but today he couldn’t seem to get the anxieties out of his head. He just kept on thinking, going through every single thing he had done today in intense detail, trying to figure out anything and everything he had done wrong. By the time he arrived home, Steven had gone through the conversation he’d had with Connie so many times that he’d practically memorized the whole exchange. He trudged into the house and went up the stairs to his room as fast as he could. In doing so, he passed a very concerned Pearl. 

“Steven?” she called after him. “Are you okay?” 

“Let him go.” he heard Garnet say. “His therapist said he’d need to be alone for a bit, remember?” 

He didn’t hear what Pearl had said, because the minute he got to his bed, he was tackled by a fluffy pink lion.

“Lion not right now!” Steven hissed. “I’m not having an attack. I’ll be fine.” 

Lion licked Steven’s face in response, causing the teen to laugh. 

“Okay okay you’ve got me.” he said, laughing in defeat. “You can lick my face as much as you want.” 

Steven practically felt the anxiety melt from his brain as he reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone to text Connie. 

< to: connie :) 

from: steven

hey sorry for moving my hand like that today. i’m really bad with physical touch sometimes. hope you understand :) >

A ding from his phone

< to: steven

from: connie :) 

don’t worry about it! i totally get it. >

Steven typed back a response. 

< to: connie

from: steven

it was nice meeting you today! >

They stayed up until midnight texting about nothing and everything and Steven felt himself feeling less and less anxious as time went by. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope y'all liked this chapter!! it was so much fun to write because of all the texts and stuff! stay groovy <3<3

**Author's Note:**

> hi!!! if you liked this fic, you should consider checking out my instagram @clodrights and my tumblr @clodwrites! stay groovy! 
> 
> this fic was also heavily influenced by instagram/tumblr user @ponpasta (thank you queen pon <3)! you should check her out for some incredible art art


End file.
